For over 10 years, this award winning Blog has been a Forum where Australian Small Business Owners can exchange Ideas and Advice with experts in Australia on how to Improve their Businesses through better Business Management, Planning & Strategy, Business Management Systems and Marketing Strategy.
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The Australian Small Business Blog

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

As a business grows, owners are always concerned about how they will know it is the right time to bring in a new employee.

There is a temptation for the owner to do things they could pay someone else to do for as long as possible as they are trying to save money. So how do you know when to bring additional staff into the business, even on a part time basis?

One reason owners hesitate to increase their staff numbers is that they are unsure if it will be sustainable. That is, they may not be able to continue to afford to pay the additional person due to variations in their sales. What if the current busy period ends?

If the owner fears that their current sales may not last, or they just don’t feel in control, they must make the building of marketing systems and the development of their sales pipeline a priority.

With a well performing marketing system and an effective sales pipeline, the owner will know where their next sales will come from and will be able to hire with confidence. For owners in this situation, they can hire with confidence.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Many hard working business owners find that in spite of an apparently healthy turnover, at the end of the month, there is little left over to pay themselves. The sales have been ok, their costs have not risen appreciably. What is eating their profits?

Even though sales may have been healthy, there are a number of factors that can be holes under the water line of your Profit Statement – invisible to the naked eye.

Firstly, are there hidden cross subsidies in your business?

This happens where you have a marginal or even unprofitable product or service being propped up by more profitable services. Every sale of the marginally profitable products suck gross profit from the healthy ones. These products are like parasites hidden inside your business’ body feeding off your body’s nutrients. As you increase the sales of these products, the more damage they do to your business.

The solution is to undertake a proper analysis of your profit structure so that the parasitic products are revealed, and appropriate treatment can be provided.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Every once in a while it’s worth while to go back to the basics for an advertiser. They have established a brand, and everyone is used to and expects ads for the products they know and like, but it’s also a good thing to go behind the product.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Definition: Marketing (noun): Finding and Attracting people who want to buy what you have to sell for the price you want to charge.
Marketing is not a single event, it’s a sequence. The first step is the Finding and Attracting, but there is a qualifier. The right kind of people.

So firstly, do you have lots of enquiries?
No? Then getting more might be your priority.
Yes? But are they difficult to convert to sales? If so, this could be either due to them not being the right kind of enquiries, or it could be that you aren’t handling them well.
If they are the wrong kind of enquiries, it means that you are wasting a lot of your marketing time and money on attracting unqualified people.
More...

Thursday, October 18, 2018

A joint venture between Blackmores and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to recommend ‘companion range’ dietary supplements to patients who were purchasing common prescription medicines has been axed. The idea was the pharmacist should recommend relevant supplements that might be useful for patients with particular conditions suggested by the prescribed medicine.

Clearly if a pharmacist suggests a particular supplement with the medication, this would be considered compelling to many purchasers due to the trust people place in the professionalism of the pharmacist. Is it an abuse of their position of trust?

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Businesses work hard to create a brand and connect to their target market, but this can sometimes backfire on the business. A perfect example of this was the riots in Britain a few years back.

A number of stores, chose as their branding, Gangster Chic. One group particularly hit hard during the riots was the JD Sports Chain. One retail expert said:

"It has clearly positioned itself as a purveyor of very aspirational product amongst the UK's youth. Curry’s and Comet [both electrical/computer goods stores] got raided because they sell high-value products. But JD was very clearly in their minds as [the place] where they'd get the stuff they aspired to. JD has almost been a victim of its own success. It worked hard to appeal to the youth market and, when the country tipped into lawlessness, it still appealed to that market."

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

I wanted to buy a gift for a client, a book I thought he would find of value. I could have ordered via Amazon, but it was not a US book, and I knew it was readily available here, as I had purchased it locally myself.

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

As business owners, we are continually bombarded with unbelievable promises of get rich quick schemes. It seems, every day someone has discovered some amazing secret formula that they are willing to share with you, which will make you millions, for just $99.95…plus tax, of course.

You know, if I had a secret formula on how to make millions, I wouldn’t be selling it for $99.95 (many of these schemes just show you how to sell to others what you just bought!)

Everyone is looking for a success formula— a ‘Silver Bullet’. Maybe a recipe that you can follow, like the ones you see in books by TV chefs. Isn’t it funny that when you follow the recipe, the result never looks quite like the picture in the book?

Why don’t these recipe books work for most people? The problem is usually not with the recipe. It is that each step in the recipe is actually several steps which assume a certain level of skill. It’s like giving someone who has never driven a car, a map on how to get from one side of the country to the other. There is nothing wrong with the directions, but they do assume you know how to drive a car.

Thursday, October 04, 2018

Selling a business is much different to selling a property, a car, real estate or anything for that matter. The process can be relatively simple and seem easy though this is where most people go wrong.

Business Brokers charge fees upwards of 5% and have been known to charge 5k plus in initial marketing. This is where most small business owners decide to take on the role of selling a business by themselves.

Two quick facts :

1) Up to 80% of the Private businesses advertised NEVER SELL

2) Of the small number that do sell, 1% actually sell for the asking price

This is not a good way to finish up after many years of hard work put into the business.
Below I cover some points on how you can drastically increase your chance of a sale if you want to have a try at selling the business yourself.

The first thing you will do after you have decided to sell your business is research similar businesses to try put a price on yours. Each business is different and really can't be valued the same way as property or a car by just looking online and guessing. I strongly recommend having a proper business valuation of your business. This will help you justify your asking price, give you a true value of your business and not just an opinion based on your own research.

Tuesday, October 02, 2018

In any business there are 4 types of employees. If you understand these types and their key attributes, how you manage them becomes much easier.
The first attribute is the person’s Ability. How capable are they in doing their job? They may have low ability, or be highly capable, with their ability (good or bad) recognised by others in your business.
The second attribute is their Attitude. This may vary from poor, just there for the pay cheque, to enthusiastic and willing to do whatever the job requires to make your business a success.
When we combine these attributes, we get a clearer picture of the employee and the management strategy for them. For those with a poor attitude and low ability, the solution is simple. These individuals appear unwilling to improve and they constantly disrupt the business causing problems for others to fix. If they are not removed from the business, the people who do the fixing will leave.
The second group are those who have great ability and a great attitude. These are your Superstars. They are ambassadors for your business and they should be honoured, nurtured and rewarded.

Monday, October 01, 2018

"As I began 'browsing'. I became so engrossed; a couple of hours later I felt as though you knew me and my problems personally. The book is enlightening, informative and very easy to read. The style of the book is very clear and draws the honest reader in. The central characters are very engaging. They are anyone and everyone in business. I believe the true value to couples reading your book is how to keep the monster they have created growing and fed!

Your book has given me the understanding and motivation to keep going towards our dream and get help before the business swallows everything we have worked for. Thank you!

Every business should be given a copy of your book before they start up and it make mandatory that they re-read it periodically before reporting to their advisor."
Yvonne Rutherford - RD Foundations